A Date With Destiny
by DoofusPrime
Summary: A young Ron Stoppable inadvertently ropes himself into asking Amelia out with an anonymous note, while Brick follows his example and decides to ask Kim out as well.  Will Ron and Kim's first foray into dating end in success, or in total humiliation?
1. The Note

**A Date With Destiny, **by DoofusPrime_**  
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_**Notes** - This was originally submitted as a one-shot for the "Guess the Author" contest found on the Kim Possible forum. However, I have decided to split it into two chapters and add some new scenes to each chapter. Hope you guys like it!_

___**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. This work was not created for profit. No copyright infringement is intended._

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**The Note**

XX

Middleton Middle School. Edifice of education, terror of teens. Ron Stoppable stood in front of the school building, fresh off the bus, and took a deep breath as he steeled himself for the start of a new day.

Ron had only recently begun his first year of middle school, and the experience was already turning out to be more harrowing than elementary school. Middle school kids were nastier, almost feral; even Ron's classmates seemed to be changing in their new environment. After the coziness of elementary school, going to Middleton Middle School was like plunging off a dirt road and into a jungle. Social ambushes waiting around every corner. Teens with teeth. Ron missed the simpler days of single-digit ages.

Despite all that, Ron was looking forward to school today. He liked to look on the bright side of things, and no matter how catty his classmates could become, his best friend Kim Possible always had his back.

Kim had just recently made the cheer squad after completing a seemingly impossible routine given to her by Bonnie Rockwaller. Ron was happy to see how much Kim was enjoying the experience. As a matter of fact, tonight was the night of the first middle school football game, and Kim would be cheering outside of practice for the first time. Ron knew how much Kim was looking forward to it, mostly due to the fact that she had been bringing it up in conversation every day for the last week.

Kim's company was welcome during the school day, but a much newer friend was also keeping Ron company in the menacing wilderness of middle school Ron pulled the friend in question out of his pocket as he began to walk up the school's front steps. The young mole rat blinked his eyes in the sunlight, and Ron shook his head with a grin.

"Sleep time's over, Rufus. Wakey wakey. It's time to get educated!"

"Oh my God," exclaimed a voice from behind him. "What _is_ that thing?"

Ron turned to find Bonnie Rockwaller standing behind him. She stared at the pink blob in his hand as if it was – well, a pink blob.

"This is my pet naked mole rat, Bonnie. His name's Rufus. I already took him to school a few times before today."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "It's not like I can keep track of all the weird life choices you make, Ron."

Ron tried to think of a suitable retort, but sticking out his tongue and thumbing his nose at Bonnie were the only ideas that came to mind. Seeing as how Ron was a middle schooler, however, it was time to leave behind such childish retorts. Ron raised his nose haughtily instead.

"_You're_ a weird life choice."

Ron pushed open the school's double front doors, satisfied he had gotten the upper hand. Bonnie had been getting on Ron's case more than she ever did in elementary school, but Ron got the distinct impression that she got on Kim's nerves even more.

Ron would be sure to share his clever retort with his best friend when he reached Kim's locker. Normally Kim rode the bus with him, but recently she had been walking to school. For the exercise, she had explained. Kim was trying to get Ron to tag along, but no way was Ron Stoppable going to exercise voluntarily.

"It's too bad about tin teeth getting on the cheer squad, huh Ron?"

Bonnie's voice snaked around from behind Ron yet again. She trailed along behind him down the hallway as they approached their lockers.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well," said Bonnie, "being on the cheer squad is more than just cheering. It's a way of life! Kim's part of the popular crowd now. I mean, kinda. Not on my level, but definitely not on _your_ level either. Sooner or later she's going to find more popular friends, maybe start dating a jock, and then you won't get to hang out with your girlfriend anymore!"

"She's not my girlfriend! We're just friends."

"Suuure." Bonnie waved mockingly as she passed Ron on the way to her own locker. "See you later, Stoppable!"

Ron grumbled a little as he passed his classmates in the hallway on his way to Kim's locker. Bonnie was even feistier than usual today, for some reason. Maybe she was just on edge about the upcoming game. After all, Bonnie had barely been on the cheer squad any longer than Kim. The way Kim told the story, Bonnie had only been accepted to the team a week or two before Kim, but still liked to act as if she was the cheer squad captain.

Lost in his thoughts, Ron almost missed Kim's locker as he ambled down the hallway. He jerked to a halt in front of the row of lockers. There it was - Kim's locker.

But no Kim.

Ron blinked in confusion. No Kim? He couldn't remember the last time he had missed his best friend before their first class. Ron looked around the hallway nervously – had he walked down the wrong hall? Was this actually Kim's locker? It seemed like the right number. Rufus peered out from a pocket and looked up at his owner, sensing Ron's confusion.

"It's alright, little buddy. I'm sure she's around somewhere."

Kim was nowhere to be found, but in front of her locker stood a crowd of Ron's fellow students, most of whom looked like they were older than Ron. A familiar girl stood in the center of the crowd, laughing and chatting with her friends. Ron's gaze made a beeline to a waterfall of brown hair that flounced about as the girl spoke. Mesmerizing, tantalizing brown hair.

Ron felt an unfamiliar flutter in his stomach. He had the urge to walk up to the owner of the hair, ask her to play _Zombie Mayhem_ with him, maybe even hold hands. As for kissing, Ron wasn't sure – he was still undecided on the existence of cooties.

"Can we help you?" one of the teens asked as the group noticed Ron staring slack-jawed in the middle of the hall.

"What? Me? No. Just walking along. Minding my own business. Hi Amelia!"

Ron waved at the brown-haired goddess in the center of the group and immediately regretted it. Amelia stared at him as if trying to make out who he was.

"Hello, uh... you."

The rest of the group continued to stare as Ron smiled nervously.

_Escape, Ron, before it's too late!_

"Alright, um, bye guys. Time for first period!"

Ron tried to whistle nonchalantly as he raced down the hall to his first class. As far as he could remember, Ron hadn't talked to Amelia before, so that was her first impression of him. Ron's whistle trailed off as he left the group's sight. He'd be much more suave next time, he decided.

The first class of the day was English, which Ron did not share with Kim. He didn't see her anywhere in the hall as he went to his class, either. Maybe that was a good thing – he was sure Kim would have a comment about his awkward interchange with Amelia. Ron reached his first period classroom and pushed open the door, deciding he would have to catch his best friend later.

"Hey Stoppable," said Brick Flagg as Ron grabbed one of the few remaining empty seats beside him.

"Hi."

First period was not Ron's favorite period. English was taught by a particularly domineering teacher named Mr. Larkin, and Ron could swear that the brawny man had a grudge against him. Middle school had barely begun, but already Ron was looking forward to high school classes. He was sure that high school teachers would be much more reasonable. Not so militaristic. For now though, Ron would have to deal with Mr. Larkin.

The hulking teacher in question glared at Ron as he set his backpack down and pulled out his English textbook. _Already_, Ron thought. _Already he's got it in for me!_

"Glad you could join us, Stoppable. I was beginning to think you were going to stand out in the hall and whisper sweet nothings into Possible's ear like you normally do, instead of coming to class and learning the English language properly!"

The rest of the class tittered at Mr. Larkin's comment, and Brick gave Ron what seemed like a noticeably sleazy wink.

"Now," Mr. Larkin said after a gruff cough silenced the class. "Speaking of sweet nothings, today we will be practicing poetry writing. Pencils out, eyes on the desk, no copying! Poetry comes from the heart, not from the adjacent desk."

Mr. Larkin peered at the pink blob poking out of Ron Stoppable's pocket.

"And no help from your pink weasel this time, Stoppable!"

Rufus squeaked indignantly. "Hmph!"

As Larkin began to write notes on the blackboard, Ron cupped his chin in his hand with a sigh. After a moment of futile concentration on a blank page of paper, Ron couldn't help but look up at the wall clock to check the time.

One minute down.

XX

Ron looked up at the wall clock. One minute to go.

Brick Flagg sat in the seat beside him, where Kim normally sat in the classes they shared. The wall clock ticked away as the teacher droned on, and Brick shared Ron's anxious stare at the clock's slowly churning hands. Brick noticed Ron sharing his gaze at the clock.

"Yeah, it's like the day never ends, dude!"

Ron was a little surprised – Brick seemed nice enough, but Ron didn't normally engage in conversation with him.

"I think that clock's broken," Ron said.

Brick nodded absently. A glance back at the rows behind him confirmed that their teacher was still helping another student with a problem they were having. Brick leaned over to Ron conspiratorially as he whispered across the gap between their desks.

"So, dude, are you and Kim Possible like, you know – going out?"

"What?"

The rest of the class glanced up temporarily at Ron's raised voice. Ron coughed and hunched down in his desk, meeting Brick's whispered tone. "No, we're not. Why's everybody think we are?"

"Well, you guys are together all the time," explained Brick. "And it's middle school. It's time to go out with people and stuff. That's what adults do."

Ron had never thought about it, but perhaps Brick was right. When did people start dating, anyways? Middle school seemed as good a time as any.

"It's just that, I dunno if you heard, but I got on the football team during tryouts when school started. And Kim _is_ a cheerleader, so it's kinda like we're supposed to be going out, you know? That's the rules."

"The rules?"

"Yeah," said Brick. "The rules. I'm not sure what they all are, but I think cheerleaders dating jocks is one of them. It's in all those teen movies!"

Ron nodded. He had heard about Brick getting on the football team – it was surprising news at the time. Brick was a fairly scrawny kid, not much bigger than Ron, and the team was filled with middle school students who looked like they had been chugging chocolate milk all summer. Chocolate milk fortified with vitamins. Kim had suggested that Brick might bulk up in the future, but Ron had laughed at the image. Still, the coach must have seen something in Brick to let him on the team.

"Well, you can ask her out," Ron said, feeling inexplicably defensive. "It's not like I'm going out with her. We're just friends!"

As Brick pumped his fist enthusiastically at the news, Ron felt a raw feeling in his stomach as some vague insecurity bubbled up from the depths of his psyche. It was another one of those strange feelings that he had been starting to get as his early teen years rolled around. When it came to boys and girls, things seemed to be getting more complicated than they used to be. Ron had tried to talk about it with Kim before, but Kim didn't seem to have any idea what he was talking about.

"Besides," Ron added, "I'm interested in somebody else."

"Oh yeah? Who's that?"

Ron felt an icy flash run down his body. He wasn't even sure why he had made the comment. Ron had blurted it out on an impulse, as if it would impress Brick. Either way, he hadn't actually planned on having an answer. Without thinking, Ron threw out the first girl's name that came to mind.

"Amelia."

Brick raised an eyebrow. "Seriously dude?"

Something about Brick's tone annoyed Ron a little. "Yeah, why not? You think I can't go out with Amelia? We're talking about the Ron-man here!"

Brick laughed. "Sure dude. You asked her out yet?"

"No."

The bell rang, cutting off their conversation, and students began to race out the door like they were being chased by bees. Brick slapped Ron on the back and got up to leave as well. As the noise dwindled down, Ron sat quietly, lost in a funk. He had just told Brick that he was going to ask Amelia out on a date, but could he really do it?

Ron started to panic as he thought about the implications of the idea. Amelia was older, in a different grade. Would she really pay any attention to him? If he asked her out, would she laugh in his face? Maybe asking her out would lead to total humiliation. Maybe she'd tell all her friends about it.

Ron was wondering what else he could do when he looked down at his backpack. It was unzipped, and in the midst of its messy contents, Ron noticed the corner of the poem he had written during class. The piece of notebook paper poetry reminded Ron of a quote that had been stuck in his mind a long time ago, from a poem he had read in one of his mother's poetry books. Ron's frown turned upside down as he toyed with his pencil, an idea forming in his mind.

Perhaps the love that dare not speak its name would work better in writing.

XX

Ron took a deep breath as he faced the locker in front of him.

Amelia's locker. A rectangle of sheet metal. His dun-colored door of destiny.

Ron had seen Amelia rooting through her locker in the hall numerous times during the past few weeks of middle school. He had never paid much attention to the locker itself – the person who was usually standing in front of it tended to monopolize his attention - but Ron's memory was jogged by the fact that the locker was at the end of a row, adjacent to a janitor's closet door.

Other than a few passing stragglers, the hallway was empty of students. Ron was missing the beginning of his lunch period so he could avoid being seen by too many classmates as they passed by. Skipping even a few minutes of lunch was difficult, but in this case it was a sacrifice worth making. The few students still in the hall were paying no attention to Ron. Now was the time for action.

Ron stepped forward, holding his note gingerly in a sweat-drenched hand, and slipped the paper inside the locker's grille. He released his breath, the act finished. It was an anonymous note, but Ron had written a location and time below the poem he had already written in Mr. Larkin's English class. Ron hoped his poetry would touch Amelia's heart. Also, since Amelia wouldn't know who had written the poem, Ron figured he would have a better chance of roping her in when she decided to find out who her secret admirer was.

"Hey dude, what was that?"

Ron jumped, startled, as Brick Flagg appeared beside him. He stammered for a moment, trying to think of something to say – suddenly, the idea of slipping an anonymous note to Amelia seemed a little corny – but Brick had caught him red-handed.

"I was slipping a note in Amelia's locker and asking her out. It had a poem on it, and at the bottom I wrote a location where she could meet me."

Brick gaped. For a moment, Ron thought he was about to get hit by a harsh laugh, but Brick did not seem to be mocking him.

"Dude, that's an awesome idea! It's all, like, romantic or something. I think I'll do the same thing for Kim!"

"Oh... oh yeah? Well, that's cool. It _is_ a good idea, isn't it?"

"I was actually looking for Kim so I could ask her out," said Brick as he fumbled through his backpack for a pencil and a piece of paper, "but I couldn't find her. Maybe she's at lunch already. I'd ask her out in the lunch room, but it's a little too crowded, you know? I don't wanna get embarrassed."

Ron nodded as Brick fished a pencil and paper from his backpack and zipped it up. He knew exactly what Brick was talking about.

"Hey Ron, you mind pointing out Kim's locker so I know where to slip the note when I write it?"

"Sure, it's down the hall there. Follow me."

XX

A crowd of students swept past Ron on their way out the school's front doors. The bell that let out the last class had not even finished ringing, but Ron – along with his classmates – were eager to escape into the sunny outdoors. Instead of leaving, however, Ron found himself walking aimlessly about in the hallway as he was buffeted left and right by passing middle schoolers. Once again, he was standing in front of Kim's locker, and once again, Kim was nowhere to be found.

Ron had noticed Amelia standing nearby, however, and managed to give her yet another goofy wave. She was grinning widely when he saw her, but Ron wasn't sure if it was in response to his wave or if she was just in a good mood. Hopefully she had gotten his note. But where was Kim?

"Hey, Ron! What are you doing?"

Ron looked down the hall and saw a familiar red ponytail poking through the crowd that was exiting the front doors.

"Kim? What are you doing out there on the front steps?"

"I was waiting for you, duh! You didn't meet me at my locker. Let's get out of here."

Ron followed Kim out of the school doors as she began to walk home from school. He looked longingly at the school bus as they took to the sidewalk that trailed away from the school's front courtyard, but Ron knew he wouldn't be able to convince Kim to take it. He decided, just this once, he would tag along with Kim as she walked home instead of taking the bus.

"Man," he said as he shook his head, "today has been a weird day. I didn't catch you at your locker at all."

"That's too bad," said Kim, who was looking unusually chipper, "because guess what I found in my locker!"

"A note?"

Kim gasped. "How did you know?"

"Uh, just a guess."

"Well, yes, it was. Somebody asked me out, Ron! There was even a really corny poem."

"Can I read it?" Ron was intrigued by what kind of poem Brick had written.

"No, it's private!" laughed Kim. "I'll be going on the date after the football game tonight. I guess I'll have to go after I finish cheering. By the way, are you gonna be there to see me cheer?"

"Um," said Ron falteringly, "I'm actually going out on a date too – I was kind of planning on getting ready for that at home."

Kim stopped in her tracks.

"A date? With who?"

"Amelia."

"The tall girl with the wavy brown hair?"

Ron smiled wistfully at Kim's description.

"Yep!"

"Ron, _ew_."

Kim began to walk again, but still had to periodically glance at Ron in surprise. "She's not even in our grade. Isn't she like thirteen years old or something?"

"What can I say, KP," exclaimed Ron with a shrug. "I like the older ladies!"

Kim fell silent as the two of them walked down the sidewalk. Ron did not really want to miss his best friend's first game, but this was important – this was Amelia. Not to mention that it would be his first date. Ron wasn't sure what dates even involved, but he knew he could need a lot of time to psyche himself up beforehand. And besides, Kim couldn't be angry at him. She was going to be hanging out with Brick after the game, after all, and on Ron night of all nights!

As they approached their own neighborhood, Ron felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had told Kim he was going out with Amelia, but Ron had no idea if she would even show up. Amelia didn't know it was Ron that left her the note. Perhaps this could all end in disaster.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later," said Kim as they reached her house. "You gotta tell me all about your date with Amelia."

"Sure. See you later, KP."

"Eek, bye!" squeaked Rufus as he clambered onto Ron's shoulder.

"Bye Rufus." Kim smiled and nodded at Rufus a little awkwardly. She was still getting used to the blue-veined, hairless blob that Ron had purchased a few weeks ago out of the blue.

As Ron continued down the sidewalk to his own house, the thought of his upcoming (possible) date with Amelia began to hang on his mind. Ron's feelings had started out optimistic, especially after writing that poetic masterpiece that Amelia was probably still marveling over after discovering it in her locker. But ever since since then, his optimism was mutating into something closer to his usual nervous temperament.

Had Kim been jealous? Ron asked himself the question and wondered if it was a ridiculous question to ask. There was no reason for Kim to be jealous, of course – they were only friends. But she had seemed a little disgusted with the idea of Ron dating Amelia. Ron thought it was a monumental achievement, or at least it would soon be if Amelia actually showed up. He knew Brick would approve. But then, Kim had told him to let her know all about the date after it was finished, so maybe Ron was imagining jealousy where there was none.

He found himself very preoccupied with how to interpret Kim's reaction to his big news, but just as bothersome was the thought of Brick going out with Kim. Not that Ron was jealous or anything, but Brick just didn't seem like Kim's type. His best friend was into goofier guys, he imagined. Guys with a natural suave way with the ladies, an abundance of intelligence, and a certain devil-may-car, individualistic streak. Ron knew he had a specific example of someone in mind, but he couldn't quite put his on who it was.

Arriving at the front door of his house, Ron forced the uneasy thoughts back into the depths of his psyche. There was nothing to do but go on the date and go with the flow.. Ron would bring Rufus along to be his wing man, which was something he had heard about on television. Wing men had your back, the show had told him. That way, even if Amelia didn't show up, Ron could have a fun date with his favorite naked mole rat.

Ron dropped his backpack and raced up the stairs after going inside. Passing by on the way to his room, he noticed his father's office door hanging open. Dean looked up from his unending pile of actuarial papers and nodded at his son, who waved back.

"Going to your friend's game tonight, Ronald?"

"No dad, I have a date!" said Ron as he disappeared into his room.

Dean nodded as he stared at a particularly confounding form.

"Ah, excellent."

XX

Kim stood in the kitchen and stared at the appalling disaster around her. Since she had been at school all day, Kim knew that her cooking could be ruled out as the culprit – the only other option was that the tweebs had gotten into the pantry. Anne Possible was wearing gloves and crouching down on the floor as she cleaned up the mess. The sight sparked a little sympathy in Kim, and she stooped down to give her mother a hand.

"Thanks, honey."

Kim smiled and stared at her mother questioningly, who had no trouble reading her daughter's expression.

"Yes. The tweebs."

"Bummer."

Kim reached her arm under the refrigerator to try to fish out some snack mix that had rolled underneath it. From the looks of it, one – or both- of the tweebs had thrown a bag on the ground and stomped on it, sending snack mix debris scattering in all directions.

"Ready for your first game tonight, Kim?"

"I think so. As long as Bonnie doesn't switch me back to that qualifying routine again."

Kim knew the upcoming game could be the start of an illustrious cheering career, but she found that her upcoming mystery date was taking up most of her attention. Not only that, but Ron's date with Amelia kept popping into her mind as well. She just couldn't picture the two of them together. Ron needed someone who would tolerate his ridiculous behavior. Amelia did not seem like someone who was likely to do that.

_Ah well,_ Kim thought to herself. _It's a good thing I've been taking a few martial arts classes lately. If Amelia hurts Ron, she'll get a date with my foot!_

"Something wrong, Kimmie? You were glowering there for a moment."

Kim looked up, the image of Amelia getting a roundhouse to the stomach dispelled by her mother's question. After a quiet pause, Kim decided she didn't want to mention anything about dating to her parents. At least not quite yet.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just this stupid snack mix."

Anne nodded as she soaked up spilled milk with a paper tower, sympathizing with her daughter. She loved her sons, but sometimes the twins could make _anyone_ want to glower a little.

XX

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_**Notes** - Hope you guys enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated._


	2. The Night

**The Night**

XX

Kim gathered with her squad on the football field's sideline as she began to limber up. The game would be starting in minutes. Kim stretched a leg out on a bleacher as she ran the moves for the squad's routine through her head one last time.

Although the entire squad had helped create the routine, Bonnie had definitely taken the lion's share of the flashy moves for herself. Kim could already tell that the two of them would have a tense relationship together on the squad. Perhaps Kim would raise the question of who exactly had elected Bonnie leader of the squad next time they practiced. Still, the squad's routine was a good one. Kim was confident that the audience would like it.

As Kim looked out into the bleachers, she saw her parents and the twins watching. Her mother gave her an encouraging wave after the twins had calmed down long enough for her to raise a hand. Jim and Tim were impossible to control, even by regular five year old children's standards.

"Good luck, Kimmie cub!" shouted her father. "You can do it!"

Kim blushed. She was happy for the support, but having her father yelling at her in front of the entire cheer squad was a little embarrassing. She noticed that Ron was not in the bleachers with her family. He must have been telling the truth about the date with Amelia. Not that Kim thought Ron was lying, of course, but still... Amelia?

Kim thought about her own date after the game. The note had been unsigned, and she had no idea who might have slipped it in her locker. Perhaps it was Walter Nelson, Kim thought. She wouldn't mind going on a date with him... they could talk about their braces! There was also a cute boy who Kim noticed in the halls from time to time. A boy with frosted blond hair. Kim didn't know his name, but she wouldn't mind if frosted-hair boy had been the one who slipped the note in her locker. Kim remembered the poem written on the note:

_Roses are red,_

_ Violets are blue,_

_ I sure would like_

_ to go steady with you!_

It was a bit corny, but Kim thought the poem might have been tongue-in-cheek.

"Earth to Kim!" shouted Bonnie. "Are you ready?"

Kim slipped out of her daze and noticed the rest of the squad looking at her.

"Yes Bonnie, I'm ready. Let's do it."

As the squad got into formation, Kim noticed her parents in the bleachers again. She realized that she hadn't mentioned the date to either of them. How would she even get there? Kim frowned as she formed the bottom of the pyramid and watched Bonnie vault to the top. Kim caught a flash of Bonnie's sardonic smile as she passed overhead, but that wasn't what had made Kim frown. She was realizing that she might have to get her parents to drive her to the date. Somehow she didn't think her father would be very keen on the idea.

The football teams were already out on the field, although they hadn't started playing yet. Kim looked out over the field after the squad broke up the pyramid and got into formation for some pom-pon moves. It was an unimpressive football field – Kim had seen the Middleton High School's field, and she was looking forward to cheering for high school games when she was old enough.

For just a moment, Kim could swear she caught a glimpse of Brick Flagg waving and winking at her before he got into his team's huddle. Could Brick be the one who slipped the note in her locker? He seemed like a nice guy, but Kim wasn't sure she was very interested in him. But then, Brick _did_ seem like someone who might have written the corny poem. Maybe he had been winking at someone else...

"Come on, Kim! What in the world are you doing!"

Kim gritted her teeth as she regained her pace with the pom-pons, matching her squad mates. She would have to deal with the date when it came – right now, she had to focus on cheerleading. This was going to be harder than she thought.

XX

Ron flexed his biceps in front of his bedroom mirror as he got ready for his date with Amelia. If he was not mistaken, Ron could swear he almost saw muscles. Not bad, he thought. Not bad at all.

"What do you think, Rufus?"

"Good!" squeaked his pet mole rat.

Ron nodded in satisfaction as he put on his trusty combination of dark long-sleeved T-shirt and red overshirt with white fringes. Since it was a special occasion, he grabbed a glass vial of liquid he had sneaked out of his parents' room – _Eau de Latriné_ – and spritzed himself generously. Poetry _and_ perfume. Ron had to pat himself on the back. He was doing everything right.

Some of the fears that had danced in Ron's mind earlier in the day were still lingering, but he felt his confidence growing. Why wouldn't Amelia show up? Ron knew _he_ would be interested if he got a note from a secret admirer. It wasn't like Ron was still a child, after all – he was in middle school, which came with an automatic boost in maturity and suaveness. Amelia would be putty in his hands. Powerless against his charms.

"Ready to go, buddy?"

"Mmhmm!"

Rufus gave Ron a thumbs up as they bounded down the stairs, passing by the living room where Ron's parents were watching television on the couch.

"Mom, dad, I'm going out on a date!"

His father grunted without turning around.

"Have fun, son!"

XX

James Possible stared incredulously at his daughter.

"You _what_?"

Her father was not angry, but Kim still wilted under the harsh tone of his voice. She had thought about lying to her parents – telling them she needed to hang out with a study buddy, perhaps – but she didn't have the nerve. Instead, she had told them the truth.

"Come on, dad. I'm in middle school now! Everybody has boyfriends and girlfriends now."

"Oh? And who would 'everybody' be?"

Kim pursed her lips and thought for a moment. She hadn't expected her father to demand specific examples.

"Well, I don't know, but I'm sure they do. Ron's going out with somebody."

Anne Possible raised an eyebrow at the comment as she listened to the conversation. "Ronald, going out? With a girl? Are you sure about that, Kimmie?"

"Yes, mother, I'm sure."

Anne was about to reply, but her attention was cut off by her sons struggling to get free of her grasp and run out onto the football field. She was beginning to wonder why they hadn't just gotten a babysitter while they watched their daughter cheer at the game.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," said James, "no daughter of mine is going to be dating anyone until she's in college and far away from my parental oversight. Where were you going to be meeting this secret admirer of yours, anyway?"

"I don't know exactly. It's just an address at the bottom of the note I got in my locker."

Kim fished the note out of her cargo pants pocket, which she had changed into soon after the game ended, and showed it to her father. James stared at the note for a moment, and then broke into a smile. Anne, still holding desperately onto the twins as they complained about not being able to run around on the grass, looked over her husband's shoulder. They both began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" said Kim, a little annoyed. She knew the poem was corny, but she didn't think it was _that_ bad.

"Kimmie-cub, _this_ is where you were going to go on your first date?" James continued to laugh, wiping under his eye with a finger. "You know, maybe I'll come along and have a little talk with this secret admirer."

"Ooh," said Anne, "and we can bring Jim and Tim!"

XX

Ron sat at a red plastic table in the center of the play room. Thumbs twiddling, he bobbed his head to the music playing on stage as he waited for his date to arrive. The animatronic animals on stage played their instruments to a near-empty play room, Ron sitting at one of the few occupied tables. Tonight was a slow night at J.P. Bearymore's Pizza Party-torium. Mister Bearymore himself seemed to be strumming his banjo a little forlornly. All the better, in Ron's opinion – the atmosphere was more romantic when the place wasn't crowded. Ron had been psyching himself up for the date ever since he had arrived at J.P. Bearymores, and his nervousness from earlier in the afternoon had almost disappeared.

_Oh, Ron_, said the Amelia of his imagination, _what an excellent place to have a date!_

_You're totally right. This banjo music is a lot cooler than that corny violin stuff, don't you think?_

_I agree. And I love your little naked mole rat. Dogs and cats are so predictable – I think owning such an exotic pet is a sign of a sophisticated man._

Ron's imaginary self raised his eyebrow suggestively. _What can I say? I'm a sophisticated guy. But I'm surprised you knew what kind of an animal it is. I guess you're a sophisticated lady._

_What kind of lady _doesn't_ have a healthy appreciation for a Heterocephalus glaber, Ronnie-wonnie?_

"Eek!"

A loud squeak broke Ron out of his reverie. Rufus, who had been gorging himself on pizza, stood up from where he had been laying down on the table and pointed to the other end of the play room, where a girl was standing and looking around hesitantly. Ron gasped. This was it. The moment of truth.

"Amelia! Over here!"

Amelia saw Ron waving and made her way through the empty plastic tables. She arrived at the table and stared at Ron and his mole rat pet.

"Ron, right?"

"Yep, that's me." Ron got up and pulled a chair out for her. "Glad you decided to come!"

Amelia smiled, but she looked a little perplexed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm the one who gave you the note," said Ron. "I'm your secret admirer!"

Amelia frowned. She pulled a white piece of paper from her pocket and gave it a brief glance, and then shook her head.

"No you're not. This is signed Brick Flagg. Look."

Amelia held the note out to Ron. Sure enough, there was a poem on the note, but it was not Ron's poem – football seemed to be a major literary theme - and the signature at the bottom was Brick's.

"Hey, somebody say my name?"

Ron looked up from the table. Brick had arrived.

Amelia turned to find Brick standing next to her. "Brick, I got your note!" she exclaimed as she pulled him into a hug. Brick stared at Ron over Amelia's shoulder, clearly confused about what was going on.

"Note?" asked Brick. "Huh? But I invited Kim here. J.P. Bearymore's is my favorite place to hang out, I thought it would be a great place for a date with her."

"Um, no you didn't. The note was in my locker, not Kim's!"

Amelia wrapped her arm around Brick and led him away from the table towards some gaming machines in the back of the room. "Now, Brick, I saw the cutest teddy bear in the claw machine over there – would you mind getting it for me? I don't have any tokens so you'll have to buy some." Amelia glanced back at Ron as the two of them left him behind. "Um, goodbye you," she mentioned as an afterthought.

Brick also took a look back at Ron as Amelia led him away. His eyes seemed to be asking Ron what was going on, but Ron could only shrug his shoulders in response.

Ron sat at the table, wondering what had just happened. He glanced at Rufus, but the naked mole rat had already lost any interest in teen drama as he dived back onto a half-eaten pizza lying on a paper plate. Ron watched as Amelia guided Brick into a separate room to buy some tokens for the machines. Had he just been ditched by Amelia?

The way Amelia had said it, it sounded like Amelia had gotten Brick's note instead of his own, and yet Brick had intended for Kim to get the note. Ron had to credit Brick with having good taste, if he was setting up dates at J.P. Bearymore's. And yet Ron had watched Brick place his note in Kim's locker. He was feeling more confused by the second.

"Ron?"

A familiar voice came from the play room's front doors.

"Kim! What's up?"

As Kim walked over to Ron's table, he noticed that her family was trailing behind her. He frowned; this did not seem like normal date procedure. Ron's motto may have been 'never be normal', but taking your family on a date seemed a bit much...

"Ron, what are you doing here? Did you invite Amelia here for your date too?"

Ron nodded. "I think there's been some kind of mix up, KP."

"What do you mean?"

"Um, can I see your note?"

Kim frowned and took the note from her pocket. Ron looked, and sure enough, it was his own.

"What the... I don't get it! This is my note. I could have sworn I put it into Amelia's locker. And then Amelia got Brick's note even though I watched him put it in your locker!"

"Ron, you _did_ remember that we switched lockers, right?"

Ron sat silently for a moment. He felt a strong urge to smash his head into the table, but Rufus and a slice of pizza were in the way.

"Um, no. I didn't know that."

"I told you like three times, Ron! Wait, Amelia got Brick's – are you saying Brick and Amelia are here right now?"

"Yeah, they're off getting tokens for a game."

"Rrrggh!"

Kim sat down at the table and let her head fall back as she groaned. It was becoming apparent that Kim did not in fact have any secret admirer.

James Possible looked like he was about to lecture Ron about something, but instead he rolled his eyes and led Kim's twin brothers towards the food court to get some pizza. Anne Possible kissed her daughter on the forehead as Kim sat at the table, looking a bit catatonic, and then walked over to Ron and gave him a pat on the back.

"Ron," she said as she leaned over to whisper in his ear, "for future reference, J.P. Bearymore's is _not_ the place to take a girl on a first date."

"Haha, yeah Ron!" the twins added. "Bad place for a date!"

Anne straightened up and looked fondly at Jim and Tim. The twins had immediately lost interest in Ron's dating foibles when they caught sight of their father. They leaped up and down at the sight of James Possible holding two plates topped with slices of cheese pizza.

"I think we'll leave the two of you alone for a while now," Anne said. "Have fun!"

XX

Amelia leaned against the glass prize case beneath the counter as she watched her date for the evening purchasing some game tokens from a bored-looking J.P. Bearymore's employee. Getting a note earlier that afternoon in her locker had been the highlight of her day; secret notes were always nice, but Brick had caught Amelia's eye in the hallways ever since school started. He was a little on the thin side, but Amelia saw potential for the boy to bulk up in the future. And there was just something about his attitude. That easygoing way of speaking he had. That brash, self-confident swing in his step.

Amelia didn't know why Brick and Ron had been acting so strangely about who had asked out who. It sounded like maybe there was a note mix up, but Amelia wasn't going to think about that – Brick had left the note in her locker, his name had been on it, and that was that. Maybe they were just teasing her. Besides, she had always seen Kim in the hallway with that sandy-haired boy, Stoppable. She had noticed Bonnie Rockwaller glancing at Brick far more than Kim ever did. Not that Bonnie and Brick would _ever_ work together. Amelia laughed at the thought.

"That one right there," said Amelia as she pointed to a stuffed teddy bear laying on a heap of its animal companions. Brick entered a token in and maneuvered the steel claw at the top of the glass box. Its tiny fingers clutched feebly at the bear but could not seem to grab hold of it.

Brick's tokens dwindled away without success. If anything, the claw had actually driven the bear deeper into the pile. A lone stuffed paw poked out of the pile, as if the bear was reaching for rescue. Amelia grunted in annoyance. She had no idea why Brick had asked her to go to J.P. Bearymore's in the first place. Not that Amelia had been on many dates, but it didn't seem like a romantic spot for one.

"Hey Brick," she said, "what do you say we go for a little romantic nighttime walk?"

Brick considered the suggestion. He looked back at the table across the game room where Ron was sitting in front of the stage with the animatronic musicians and noticed that Kim had arrived to sit next to her friend. Had he put his note into Amelia's locker accidentally? Maybe Ron had pointed him to the wrong locker. He looked back at Amelia, who was fluttering her eyelashes. Kim was a pretty girl, but Amelia was a knockout too. Brick decided a date was a date.

"Maybe I should say goodbye to Kim and Ron first."

Amelia looked back at the two figures in question, feeling a little threatened by the fact that Brick was mentioning Kim again. "No, you can say hi to them when you see them in school. I want to go out."

"But Amelia, I -"

Before he could finish his protest, Brick felt himself being led hastily out the front door as Amelia wrapped her arm around his. She was beautiful, Brick thought, but maybe a little controlling. That was alright though. Brick was surprised to find that there was something he liked about being led around by a girl.

XX

During a break in the animatronic animals' stage performance, the sound of Ron's fingers drumming on the table rang out in the near-empty J.P. Bearymore's. Other than Kim's parents and the twins playing some games at the far end of the room, Ron thought he and Kim might be the only ones left in the building. He had seen Brick and Amelia playing one of those games with the iron claw and the plush toys earlier, but they had disappeared since then. Ron looked around absently, having been sitting across from his friend for what seemed like an eternity without saying much. The situation was a little awkward, Ron had to admit, and Kim still looked a little peeved at the sudden reversal of her dating situation.

"What _is_ that smell?" asked Kim, scrunching up her face as she sniffed the air. "Is that coming from you?"

Ron sniffed himself in confusion before realizing what Kim was smelling. "Oh yeah, it's a fragrance I got from my parents' room. I thought Amelia would like it."

"It's a bit strong."

Ron shrugged helplessly. Maybe Kim just didn't understand dating protocol as well as he did; it was important to make a good first impression. Ron had even given his red pullover a once-over to make sure there weren't any nacho cheese stains on it before arriving at the date. There was no possible way he could have been more well-prepared.

Ron wasn't exactly what what he would have talked about if he had actually sat down to eat with Amelia – he was just planning to wing it when it came to conversation. He didn't really know anything about Amelia, now that he thought about it. Maybe it would have been a little harder than talking with his best friend. The thought of his best friend reminded Ron that he had missed Kim's first game, and he began to feel a little guilty.

"Sorry about missing your game, Kim."

"Oh, that's alright. It wasn't all that great."

"Really? Why not?"

"Well, don't get me wrong," Kim said, "I did great - I mean, I had all the moves down perfectly, but Bonnie kept going out of her place and trying to show off. It was almost like she was deliberately trying to show me up or something. I hope she doesn't think she's better than me."

Ron sympathized with Kim, and her story sounded like textbook Bonnie. It was unfortunate that the two of them sounded like they were getting along so poorly. Ron wondered if Kim had the perseverance to stay on the team for more than a couple weeks if Bonnie was going to be making things hard for her the whole time. He knew he'd quit in a week or two, no doubt about it.

"So did you actually want to go out with Brick?"

"Well, not really. I was kind of hoping for Walter Nelson, or that frosty-haired boy."

"Oh, right. I think his name is Josh Monkey."

Ron frowned. Josh Monkey seemed suspicious to him, although Ron couldn't pinpoint where the feeling came from. Something about the boy's name, maybe.

Ron was about to ask Kim why she was interested in either of the two boys she had mentioned, when a more concerning thought crossed his mind. If Kim had gotten his note, even if it was accidental, did that mean they were on a date now? Ron didn't think you were supposed to go on dates with your best friend. He wondered if he was breaking some law of nature.

"So, uh, why did you and Amelia switch lockers?" he asked.

"Mr. Larkin made her switch as a punishment. Apparently she was talking too much to people in her own grade who had the lockers around her, and kept being late to class, so Mr. Larkin wanted her to have a locker on the other end of the hall. I volunteered to switch with her."

"Why?"

Kim thought for a moment, and then leaned forward across the table and looked at Ron in excitement. "I was asking Mr. Larkin earlier, and apparently some of the lockers have electrical outlets in them. Amelia's locker has one too. I've been thinking about how maybe I could hook up a computer in my locker."

Ron was nonplussed. A computer? He knew that Kim had enjoyed building her new website, but he couldn't imagine it being so fun that she'd want to play with a computer in her locker.

"Why do you want that?"

"Well," said Kim, "When we rescued Mr. Paisley and Mr. McHenry from that laser grid, that was totally spanking, right? Even if he didn't give me a Flamingoat as a reward."

Ron nodded hesitantly. He knew that Kim had enjoyed the outing, but Ron couldn't say he shared her sentiments. For some reason, anytime he remembered visiting Mr. Paisley's mansion to help defuse the grid, vague images of a giant stone creature flitted about in the depths of his mind. Maybe a giant stone ape. Ron had no idea where the bizarre images came from, but his recollection of the visit to Mr. Paisley's house definitely weren't as spanking as Kim's apparently were.

"I've been thinking about doing more things like that," Kim continued. "Not just babysitting, but actually helping people out. I said I can do anything on my website, right? Maybe it's braggy, but I don't know - it could be fun!"

Kim leaned even closer, seeming to become more excited by the second. "And not only that, but I've been reading stuff on the internet about supervillains. It's fascinating! I had no idea where were so many people trying to take over the world, and nobody seems to do anything about it. I mean, beyond this one group of people in Upperton, Team Blow or something. But still, you know how I got mom to sign me up for some of those martial arts classes - maybe I could fight evil someday too!"

"I see..."

"And I didn't tell you this, I guess it's a little embarrassing, but I didn't make the whole site myself – I actually talked to this guy online, Wade, that looked over my site and helped clean it up. And he's been reading about these supervillains too! He made my site look so much better, he's gotta be like 30 years old or something with how good he is at computers. But Ron, it's like I have all these ideas and everything is starting to come together and -"

Ron smiled and nodded as Kim went on, although at this point she was starting to talk a little too fast for him to keep up. From the gist of it, Ron got the feeling that Kim was planning a lot of new activities, some of which would involve great danger.

Ron knew he would be volunteered to come along on these activities. He had known Kim forever. Almost a decade, in fact. Something Ron had discovered during that time was that Kim ran on all engines, all the time. And being best friends with her meant that Ron was always along for the ride.

Kim grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Ron, I guess I'm boring you."

"No, no, all that sounds like it would rock. And I think you could do it, KP. I mean, it's true, you can do anything."

Kim smiled and bashfully toyed with her red ponytail.

The bears kept up their song and dance on the stage, and the disco ball hanging above the play room made Kim's braces flash like fire in her mouth. Ron winced, but he didn't mind it. He liked to see Kim smile. She had kept her mouth closed the first day after she had gotten her braces, but Ron had convinced her that her smile was too pretty to hide, with or without braces.

Ron was still a little stung by the fact that Amelia had ditched him for Brick, even if Brick didn't look like he was a willing participant in the unexpected switch. Although the two of them had been missing for such a long time that Ron wondered if they were getting along better than Brick had expected. Despite missing out on his date with Amelia, however, Ron decided that he was more than happy to be hanging out with his best friend.

"So," he said to Kim, "Could I interest my beautiful date in a succulent slice of cheese pizza?"

Kim stared at Ron for a moment, taken aback by his lame attempt at suaveness, before she burst out laughing. Ron knew she was not being mean, and he laughed with her.

"That sounds tasty," Kim admitted.

"And after that," Ron continued, "perhaps we could share a romantic jump into the ball pit over there!"

"I think the twins might have already claimed that," Kim said as she got up with Ron to get a slice of pizza, "but maybe when we get a chance."

Ron skipped over to the food court as Rufus leaped up from the table to perch on his shoulder. Ron's disappointment was already dissipating as Amelia slipped from his mind. Pizza and a night of hanging out at J.P. Bearymore's with his best friend – Ron decided that things could have gone a lot worse.

As he thought about it, Ron decided that perhaps fighting evil with Kim wouldn't be so bad either. At least as long as he didn't have to parachute from planes or deal with monkeys. But even if Kim wanted to do both of those things, Ron would be there. He was sure of that. Ron always had his best friend's back.

XX

* * *

_**Notes** - That's it! Let me know what you think. For those of you who did not read this from the contest, I hope you liked it, and for those of you who did, I hope you liked the new scenes. They weren't major but I thought a couple of them would be amusing and maybe give a little more insight into Kim and Ron and their thoughts on their dates. Also I couldn't resist writing a little more Amelia and Brick.  
_

_If anyone read this who hasn't read any of my stuff before and wants to read something similar, I guess my story _A Little Lemon_ might be closest in tone and in terms of being very Kim/Ron-centric. So there's my suggestion for further reading! :-p_


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